1.3 Flashcards
What were 2 gains from the FWW for women?
It gave them a chance to work
Congress passed the 19th Amendment in 1920, giving women the right to vote
What two women organisations were set up in 1920 and what did they do
The League of Women Voters - encouraged women to vote
Women’s Bureau of Labor- improve women’s working conditions and campaign for the wider employment of women
Between 1910 and 1940, how did the number of working women change
1910 - 8.3% of women were working
1940 - 9.8% of women were working
How did the Great Depression impact women
A 1932 Women’s Bureau of Labor report on women workers in slaughtering and meat packing found that about 97% of them were working as the only wage earner in the family, or to boost the husbands wage, not because they wanted to work
Women with families faced significant difficulties raising their children
The Women’s Bureau of Labor supported the Supreme Court’s 1908 Muller v Oregon ruling that women’s working hours should be no more than ten a day which negatively impacted the poorest women as they had to break the rules - the Women’s Bureau of Labor was accused by some of hindering women’s progress
How did the New Deal impact women
Overall, the New Deal focused on providing relief for men
Eleanor Roosevelt wanted jobless young women to be provided work in forestry - in 1933, Camp Tera was set up, funded largely by private donations
In 1934, she held the White House Conference for unemployed women - after this, the camps were federally funded
By 1936, there were 36 camps, taking about 5000 women a year
However, they only took women for 2-3 months and provided no work or wages
During the New Deal, how much did a white man earn compared to a white women and a black women
For every dollar a white man earned, a white woman earned 61 cents and a black women earned 23 cents, on average
What did Fannie Peck do to help women during the New Deal
She set up a series of Housewives Leagues in Detroit in 1930 - these organisations worked to encourage women to shop in black-run stores and to organise help for those in need
They soon spread to other towns and did help local people on a small scale
How did the Second World War impact women
Women showed they were capable of doing male work
1940 Selective Training and Service Act prepared to draft men into the military and train women to fill their places
1941 Lanham Act’s childcare provision was extended - by 1944, there were 130000 children in day care, and married women in the workforce rose from 15% to 23%
How did the SWW affect black women and how were they treated
Worker shortages meant black women could train for professions where they had previously not been welcome - the number of black women on nursing courses rose from 1108 in 1939 to 2600 in 1945
However, in some places, employers refused to employ black women, saying they had sexual diseases
Also, employees were equally difficult: in one Detroit rubber plant, white women workers refused to share toilets with black women
How did the SWW impact women post-war
Once the war ended many women were not re-employed
The percentage of married women 45-54 rose from 10.1% in 1940 to 22.2% in 1950
1946 - Federally funded day-care centres were closed down
The war also changed people’s attitudes - in 1938 78% of people thought married women shouldn’t work, in 1942 it was 13%
Many married women, who gained skills during the war, wanted to continue working
However, women were still paid lower wages than men for the same work
Who were William and Daisy Myers and what happened to them
In 1957, they bought a house in a 17300-home white suburb
They day they moved in, 3000 ‘neighbours’ surrounded the house and threw stones at the windows
State officials upheld their right to stay and banned large gatherings to prevent mobs forming
How many people lived in suburbs in 1960 compared to 1950
In 1960, 19 million more people lived in suburbs than in 1950
How did suburban living in 1941-60 impact women
Most suburban housewives had Labour-saving devices, and better-off women had cleaners and maids - the suburbs created a subset of women with too much time on their hands, but this life was portrayed on billboards, magazines and televisions, e.g. the ‘I Love Lucy’ show as the American Dream
Those who remained in the cities that couldn’t afford to move to the suburbs were worse off - education and job opportunities available to women living in these areas made it almost impossible to change their
What did the government set up in relation to women (1960s)
In 1961 Eleanor Roosevelt influenced president Kennedy to set up a commission of Enquiry on the status of Women
What were the positive findings published by the Commission of Enquiry on the Status of Women
1963 it published its results, praising the Equal Pay Act and the wider opportunity for women in government
In 1964, the Civil Rights Act included sexual equality in its provisions
